Clothes-line pulley.



IER.

CLOTHE PULLEY.

- APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7. I916.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

HERMANN F. MEIER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CLOTHES-LINE PULLEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

Application filed October 7, 1916. Serial No. 124,214.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN F. MEIER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Line Pulleys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a clothes line pulley, and the object of the invention is to so construct a pulley as to preclude all possibility of iron rust, or analogous detrimental material, from being taken up by the clothes.

It has long been recognized by all those who have had occasion to dry clothes in cities, where the use of clothes line pulleys is almost universal, that such clothes are seriously damaged by iron stains. The cause of the trouble, however, has not been fully undertstood, but that it was attributable, more or less, to the clothes line pulleys used, is shown by the" fact that attempts have been made to make certain parts of such pulleys out of more or less non-corrosive material. In no case, however, have clothes line pulleys been constructed entirely from non-corrosive material.

My investigations as to the cause of iron rust stains, when clothes are dried under the conditions stated, show that such stains are attributable almost entirely to the iron oxid which is formed primarily on one portion of the pulley or other, whence it is taken up by the clothes line, which acts as a wiper, and thereupon transferred from the line to the clothes. Notwithstanding this serious drawback has existed almost from time immemorial, no clothes line pulley has ever been constructed, so far as I am aware, of such material or materials as to absolutely preclude all corrosion by the elements and with the resulting protection to the clothes. Even in cases where wood or other non-corrosive wheels were employed, the axles thereof or the pulley blocks, were made of material more or less corrosive, with the result that the iron oxid, or other detrimental material, finally found its way to the surface of the wheels or pulleys from which it was wiped off by the clothes line, and thereafter deposited on the clothes.

The present invention entirely overcomes the difliculties referred to in that it embodies a clothes line pulley, all the parts of which, including the sheave, axle, block, etc., const uc ed of absolutely nonrro i e material. In thus constructing a clothes line pulley, I have employed wood, glass, porcelain and analogous non-corrosive materials, all with the result, as shown by repeated tests, that they can be used indefinitely without any danger of depositing iron stains or similar corroded material on the clothes.

Aside from the change of materials used in the making of the pulleys, the invention embodies certain structural improvements of pronounced advantage, which will be manifest from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the invention but the structure therein shown is to be understood as illustrative only and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a prespective view of a device made in accordance with the present invention, said view showing the manner in which the pulley serves to support a clothes line. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal transverse section taken centrally through the pulley.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a block of wood or other non-corrosive material formed in one piece. The block A is elongated in shape and is provided with a longitudinally extending slot B intermediate its ends in which is adapted to work a sheave C. Sheave C is rotatably positioned within the slot B and is secured in place by an axle D which passes transversely through the block and through the center of the sheave. Both the axle and the sheave are also of wood or other non-corrosive material.

As shown in the drawings, slot B is formed nearer one end of the block A than the other, and the end of the slot most remote from its adjacent end of the block is provided with a cut-out portion a constituting a secondary slot with its blind end preferably formed on the arc of a circle as shown in Fig. 2 so that a rope E passed through the slot B and tied beyond the head of the block to form an attaching loop may extend through the cut-out portion a and engage with the arcuate configuration thereof, whereby wearing of the rope at this point is precluded. Moreover, by passing the rope E through the cut-out portion or secondary slot a said rope is so removed from the sheave as to not interfere with the opera ations thereof or choke the clothesline F when passed through the slot B and around the sheave C as shown in Fig. 1. Moreover, to preclude the attaching loop E from inadvertently leaving the secondary or attaching slot (1, and entering the slot B, the slots B and a are connected by a restricted or constricted passage a. This passage is of such dimensions as to allow the loop E to be tied through slot B and then pulled through the passage to its seat in slot (1-, as shown in the drawings, but will not allow of inadvertent retrograde movement of said loop. The sheave C is of a diameter exceeding the thickness of the block so that the clothes line F is maintained free from engagement with the opposite faces of said block and wearing of the clothes line by the block is thus precluded.

It will be manifest from the foregoing description that neither the block A, sheave C, axle I) nor attaching rope E are of corrosive material and consequently, since there are no partswhich can corrode or rust, no such corrosion or rust can be deposited upon the clothes line cooperating with said pulley of this invention.

The loop E of rope provides a flexible means for attaching the block to a fixed support such as a hook on a pulley pole and the pulley is thus supported for universal movement so that the pulley may readily adapt itself to the position of the line and binding of the parts cannot occur. Accordingly, serious accidents which have heretofore frequently resulted from a sudden binding of the parts, such 6. 9., as has been occasioned by the operator pulling herself out of the window when the clothes line failed to respond to a sudden hard pull, are entirely obviated. Moreover, block A is of an in tegral, one piece construction and can therefore be manufactured in a most expeditious and economical manner. In fact all of the parts are of the simplest form and are constructed to withstand maximum strains without breakage. In this regard it will be noted that the attaching loop E embraces the deeper end of the block and thus sustains the weight imposed upon the pulley at the strongest portion of said pulley. Throughout the construction the distribution of material is so carried out as to bring about minimum size and weight with maximum strength.

In the present instance, there is a pronounced advantage in making the block i11- tegral since, in those blocks which have heretofore been constructed from assembled parts, screws, bolts, wire or analogous metallic means have been used in joining the parts, with the result that such metallic means became oxidized with consequent injury to the clothes.

As stated, glass, porcelain and analogous non-corrosive material may be employed in constructingthe several parts of the device provided proper care be taken to select material possessing the required degree of strength.

I am aware that clothes line pulleys have been constructed from galvanized metal but galvanizing affords only temporary relief from the disadvantages adverted to, the

galvanized coating soon wearing off when continuously exposed to weather conditions, and thereby presenting an oxidizable surface. In this connection it may be stated that no matter how small the exposed oxidizable surface is, it is bound to result in a deposit of iron stains on the clothes.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A clothes line pulley embodying a onepiece block of non-corrosive material, aportion of which is cut out to form two slots disposed longitudinally of the block, a noncorrosive axle extending through one of said slots, a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned in said slot and mounted for rotation on the axle, and an attaching loop of non-corrosive material embracing one end ofthe block and passing through the other slot for mountingthe pulley for universal movement ona fixed, support, whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of noncorrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust upon the clothes line is thereby obviated.

2. A clothes line pulley embodying a onepiece block of non-corrosive material, a portion of which is cut out to form two slots disposed longitudinally of the block, a noncorrosive axle extending through one of said slots, a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned in said slot and mounted for rotation on the axle, and an attaching loop of non-corrosive material embracing one end of the block and passing through the other slot for mounting the pulley for universal movement on a fixed support whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of noncorrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust upon the clothes line is thereby obviated, the slots of the block being connected by a constricted passage precluding inadvertent disengagement of the attaching loop from its slot.

3. A clothes line pulley embodying a onepiece block of non-corrosive material provided with a longitudinal slot, a noncorrosive axle extending through the slot of the block, a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned within the slot and mounted for rotation on the axle, said block being provided with an attaching slot posi tioned at one end of the sheave-slot and connected therewith by a constricted passage, and a flexible attaching member of non-corrosive material passing through the attaching slot for mounting the pulley for universal movement on a fixed support, whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of non-corrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust on the clothes line is thereby obviated.

4. A clothes line pulley embodying a onepiece block of non-corrosive material provided with a longitudinal slot having a constricted portion intermediate its ends dividing the slot into two sections, a non-corrosive axle extending through one section of the slot of the block, a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned within said section and mounted for rotation on the axle, and a flexible member of non-corrosive material passing through the other section of the slot for mounting the pulley for universal movement on a fixed support, whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of non-corrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust on the clothes line is thereby obviated.

5. A clothes line pulley embodying a one piece longitudinally slotted block of noncorrosive material, a non-corrosive axle extending through the slot of the block, a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned within the slot and mounted for rotation on the axle and means for mountingv the pulley for universal movement on a fixed support, whereby the pulley is constructed ontirely of non-corrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust on the clothes line is thereby obviated.

6. A clothes line pulley embodying a one piece longitudinally slotted block of noncorrosive material, a non-corrosive axle extending through the slot of the block, and a sheave of non-corrosive material positioned within the slot and mounted for rotation on the axle, whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of non-corrosive mate rials and the depositing of corrosion or rust on the clothes line is thereby obviated.

7. A clothes line pulley embodying a longitudinally slotted wooden block, a wooden axle extending through the slot of the block, and a wooden sheave positioned within the slot and mounted for rotation on the axle, whereby the pulley is constructed entirely of non-corrosive materials and the depositing of corrosion or rust on the clothes line is thereby obviated.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HERMANN F. MEIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I) 0. 

